1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system which includes a lock with a keyhole extending in a longitudinal direction in order to receive a key, and with a write/read device which is arranged to communicate with a transponder unit provided on a key, a write/read coil which is connected to the write/read device and has a coil axis, and also includes at least one key which can be inserted into the keyhole of the lock in a longitudinal direction of the key and is provided with a transponder unit arranged to communicate with the write/read device in the lock, and with a transponder coil which is connected to the transponder unit, has a coil axis and can be inductively coupled to the write/read coil.
The invention also relates to a key which can be inserted into a keyhole of a lock in a longitudinal direction of the key and is provided with a transponder unit which is arranged to communicate with a write/read device in a lock and with a transponder coil which is connected to the transponder unit, has a coil axis and can be inductively coupled to a write/read coil connected to a write/read device in a lock.
The invention also relates to a lock with a keyhole extending in a longitudinal direction in order to receive a key, and with a write/read device which is arranged to communicate with a transponder unit provided on a key, a write/read coil which is connected to the write/read device, has a coil axis and can be inductively coupled to a transponder coil on a key which is connected to a transponder unit on a key.
2. Description of the Related Art
A system of the kind described in the first paragraph, a key of the kind described in the second paragraph, and a lock of the kind described in the third paragraph are known, for example from the document EP 0 685 620 A1.
When the key has been inserted in the keyhole of the lock in the known system, the coil axis of the write/read coil and the coil axis of the transponder coil are exactly coaxially arranged, so that adequate inductive coupling, necessary to ensure perfect communication between the lock-side write/read device and the key-side transponder unit, exists only when the key has been inserted in the keyhole. This constitutes a limitation which is to be considered a drawback for many applications of a system in which a lock and a key cooperate according to the transponder principle.